


looking for my peace

by gaywoodandbine



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 07:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17700452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaywoodandbine/pseuds/gaywoodandbine
Summary: Alec deserves a medal for dealing with the Clave’s bullshit every day. That’s not likely to happen any time soon, but what he’s got waiting for him at home more than makes up for it.





	looking for my peace

**Author's Note:**

> title from let go by beau young prince

Alec is exhausted. It’s a bone-deep tired that hasn’t come from the taut pull of his bow string or the swing of his blade against a demonic threat. No, this exhaustion comes from a different sort of battlefield with an opponent that might be more insidious than those that claw their way up from the depths of hell. At least, demons were fairly predictable. You knew where you stood with a ten-foot-tall teuthida demon. The Consul, not so much. 

Alec has been groomed for this position since he was born, but navigating the political minefields of the Clave and their miles of red tape is trying on a good day. Exacting change in a world with an adamas core of archaic tradition and rigid law was never going to be easy, but Alec sometimes wishes it would give him a fucking break now and then. 

It’s a relief to see the familiar outline of Nightingale Towers against the night sky. Every step closer to home takes a sliver of tension from his spine. It would have been quicker to grab a portal, but after the day he’d had, Alec needed the walk. 

The elevator doors open of their own accord these days, taking him up to the top floor without him even having to press a button. He’d brought it up to Magnus once, curious and a little confused, but had only received a vague answer about his magic being so interwoven in the very bricks and beams of this building over the years. And it knew Alec, now. So. There had been a faint blush around Magnus’s cheeks as he’d busied himself with a heavy tome bigger than his torso. 

He often talked about his magic like it was a living thing, a part of him and inarguably so… but also more than that. Alec would probably never quite understand fully, but as he opens the door of the loft, passing through the wards that slide over his skin with a caress that’s as gentle as a kiss, he thinks he kind of does. 

Alec sets his bow and quiver in their designated spot by the door and shrugs out of his jacket. He shakes the light dusting of snow from his hair and takes his boots off, not wanting to track slush through the apartment. 

Magnus is nowhere to be seen. The living room is empty, the kitchen silent, but there’s light coming from beneath the door to the apothecary. Muffled music filters through, the bass beat vibrating slightly beneath Alec’s feet even with the lowered volume. 

The door opens silently when Alec turns the handle, and he’s greeted with a sight that settles every agitated and annoyed bone in his body. Crossing his arms, he leans against the doorframe, drinking it in for a moment. 

Magnus stands back to him, a giant white board placed in front of his desk. It’s such a mundane object that looks so out of place amidst the ancient weathered books and potion ingredients stuffed into dusty glass bottles. Magnus is clearly working on something, however, judging from the arcane symbols jotted across it in meandering paths and patterns. A Latin incantation that Alec can just barely piece together is scattered across the right side. Magnus writes another part down before taking a step back. 

His hips and shoulders sway to the beat of the music, and he tilts his head to the right, dry erase marker tapping the side of his jaw as he regards the whiteboard. There are black marks there like it isn’t the first time he’s done it and forgotten the cap wasn’t on. Another second goes by before he reaches forward and wipes away one section, turning to step over to a book he must be referencing. His hips never stop moving even as he turns a page, and Alec bites back a smile when he glides back to the whiteboard to write something else. Always in constant motion, this one. 

The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows, marker smudges on his fingertips. He looks soft like this, hair having lost some of its impressive volume after a long day and falling gently over his forehead. He’s the most beautiful thing Alec’s ever seen.

Alec lets his eyes drift over the width of Magnus’s shoulders, lower to watch the shift of muscles in his back as he moves. The curve of his ass gets a little more attention, which really just serves as a reminder that Alec hasn’t touched him all goddamn day. A day full of meetings and video conference calls with officials who just barely hold back their seething dislike of Alec and his Associations and the way he runs his Institute. 

Before he can let all the aggravation rise in his chest again, he pushes away from the doorframe. One, two, three steps closer, and his arms are sliding around Magnus’s trim waist, fitting himself to his back. He presses his cold nose to Magnus’s throat, breathing in the familiar, warm scent of him. Magnus’s body gives a little shiver from the brief chill.

“I was wondering how long you were planning on standing there,” Magnus says, voice pitched low though Alec can hear his smile.

“It’s a nice view,” Alec says against the underside of his jaw before sealing it there with a kiss. He can finally feel all the tension ebbing away.

Magnus leans back into Alec’s chest, hands sliding over the arms around him. 

“Rough day, love? When you called to cancel lunch, I figured shit had hit the fan.”

Alec gives an unintelligible grumble against Magnus’s neck that’s more irritable growl than anything else. It gets him a breath of Magnus’s laughter. The sound of it is probably one of Alec’s favorite things in the world. He hides a smile in Magnus’s shoulder under the pretense of placing a kiss there as well. 

“That bad, hm?”

Alec tightens his arms around him in reply, and Magnus turns his head enough that he can see him without breaking his hold. Reaching up, he cards his fingers through Alec’s hair, trying in vain to tidy the mess of it. 

“My poor Shadowhunter.”

Magnus’s hand cups his face, and Alec can’t help tilting his head into the soft touch. He sometimes still can’t believe that this is his. It wasn’t too long ago that the only thing he had to look forward to was to die young. All the things he never dreamed he could have are now in his grasp. The most important and precious of all is this man, this brilliant and beautiful man who shines brighter than the angels. 

Alec turns his head, kissing Magnus’s wrist. There’s some, if given the chance, who’d take this from him in a heartbeat for no reason other than their own ignorance and hatred. Alec swears he’ll kill anyone who tries. 

Magnus makes a concerned noise, thumb brushing lightly over Alec’s cheekbone, and he can only imagine what his face looks like, “Why don’t you go take a shower. I’ll clean up in here and get us some take out. Maybe a movie?”

Alec nods. There’s nothing in the world that sounds better, at the moment. Magnus moves to pull away, but Alec holds tight, keeping him where he is. 

“In a minute.”

Magnus looks at him for a long moment, studying his face, and then he smiles and nods, settling against him again. Alec closes his eyes, grounding himself in the solid weight of his boyfriend’s body, and the two of them sway gently together to the slow beat of a love song.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on [tumblr](http://gaywoodandbine.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/gaywoodandbine) to yell into the void about malec!


End file.
